Man Slaps Crying Baby on Plane, Demands 'Shut that Ni##er Baby Up': Joe Rickey Hundley Charged with Assault, Apparently Intoxicated

Reports confirm that a 60-year-old man has been accused of shouting a racial slur and then slapping a baby in the face during a recent Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. Following the incident, Joe Rickey Hundley was charged with simple assault involving 33-year-old Jessica Bennett and her 19-month-old son Jonah. During the alleged altercation, Hundley (apparently intoxicated) told Bennett to "shut that ni##er baby up" after young Jonah began getting restless during the plane's decent for landing. As the mother looked on in horror, Hundley then slapped Bennett's young boy across the face when he wouldn't quiet down.

Bennett told authorities that her adopted son "started to cry due to the altitude change" as the plane prepared for landing in Atlanta, GA on Feb. 8. The mother and son (who were on their way to a family funeral) shared a seat on the flight while Hundley occupied the seat next to them. When baby Jonah wouldn't quiet down, Hundley allegedly turned to Bennett and told her to "shut that ni##er baby up." A report compiled by FBI Agent Daron Cheney and reported by the Smoking Gun states that Hundley then "turned around and slapped" the toddler in the face "with an open hand, which caused the juvenile victim to scream even louder." Bennett claims that the violent slap "caused a scratch below [the child's] right eye."

Hundley, the president of an aircraft parts manufacturer based in Idaho, claims that he never abused the baby either racially or physically, although he did ask Bennett to "quiet the child." The man was charged with simple assault in an Atlanta federal court last week - if convicted, he faces a maximum of one year in prison.

Bennett recently told The Smoking Gun that Hundley appeared to be intoxicated - he allegedly "reeked of alcohol" and was "stumbling around wasted." The mother insists that he consumed several double vodkas during the flight. In this drunk state, Hundley also allegedly told Bennett that Jonah was too big to be a "lap baby."

But according to Hundley, he only had one alcoholic beverage while on the plane. He was traveling to Atlanta to visit a hospitalized relative, so his emotional state was "distraught."

However, several other passengers on the Delta flight claim Hundley did indeed commit the crime. Todd Wooten, who was seated 12 rows ahead, told authorities that he "heard derogatory language coming from the rear of the aircraft." When he went to see what was going on, "he saw Joe Rickey Hundley strike" the child.

Several people disagree with the "light" sentence, and believe that Hundley should also be charged with a hate crime.